Measuring organizational level IS usage and its impact on manufacturing performance

Author:

Tu, Qiang

Abstract:

Computer-based information systems (IS) technologies are continuously altering the nature of manufacturing competition. The effective use of IS in manufacturing industry has become a critical enabling factor for firm success. While the IS usage concept has been widely addressed in the IS literature, its linkage to manufacturing performance has bot been well documented by empirical studies. Meanwhile, a comprehensive and reliable measurement instrument for organizational level IS usage is also not available. This study first develops a valid and reliable measure of organizational level IS usage through large-scale survey data collection and rigourous stasticial validation. The relationship between IS usage and manufacturing performance is then examined using structural equation modeling. The study indicates that firms with high levels of IS usage generally have better manufacturing performance.